Day 2: Quito, Ecuador - Part 1: Arrival in Ecuador

Reporting from: Domestic Terminal at Quito International Airport.

Bienviendos a Ecuador! We arrived in Quito on schedule last night around 10pm. The flight from Houston to Quito was 4hrs 45 mins... over 5 hours with waiting in Houston to take off.

Not a whole lot to report on the flight from Houston, other than we had a good jolt coming into Andes mountains near the end. We met some interesting people on the flight: a couple from Oregon travelling to Ecuador for a similar purpose as ours, 2 people from Ohio looking to possibly start a business in South America, and 2 elderly ladies coming back to Ecuador from San Francisco after having visited their family in the US.

Murray arrived literally 5 mins after us from Miami which was perfect. Customs was pretty much nothing. We were met by the hotel shuttle after getting our luggage and we made out way to Hotel Quito (www.hotelquito.com). Very nice place to stay if you are ever here, with prices ranging in the $80-100 range depending on who you know.

Since it was night it was hard to tell what Quito looked like. However this morning when I opened the curtains I saw the mountains and city built up on all sides. The temperature this morning was about 45 degrees at 8am. It is foggy and overcast here today. The first city that came to mind as a comparison was San Francisco.

After a really nice breakfast buffet ($7) that would rival any 4-star hotel in the US, we immediately packed up to transfer back to the airport for our 11:30 flight to Guyaquil (one-way = 40 minutes and $50). Once there we will meet our driver who will be taking us to the southwestern Pacific coast of Ecuador.

Our ride in the taxi from the hotel to the airport was not a crazy drive by any means, but it was fast and aggressive for sure! I tried to take some pictures with my phone as we drove through the city but we were going too fast.

No pictures of Quito today folks, sorry! We are coming back for 2 days at the end and will take lots of pictures then. Until then, stay tuned for possibly another update this evening from the coast, assuming I can find WiFi (which to this point has been very accessible everywhere).

Did you know: Quito's altitude is approximately 9500 feet, almost twice the elevation of Denver. (My travel partners are struggling! I notice my heart rate elevated a little and not feeling really strong in my legs. I plan to try and run in Quito when we get back.)